


Welcome Home

by acaaaaaaai



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Episode: s05e25 Familiar, Gen, One Shot, References to Grief/Mourning, White Pearl used to belong to Pink Diamond Theory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-29 20:14:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17210192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acaaaaaaai/pseuds/acaaaaaaai
Summary: While Steven goes to meet his diamond relatives, Pearl talks to Yellow and Blue Pearl for the first time in eons.Based on Familiar (currently the most recent episode).





	Welcome Home

“Have a nice extraction, Pink Lasagna.” Yellow Pearl said as she gracefully bowed to Steven.

Pearl and Yellow Pearl watched as Steven self-consciously shuffled his way into Yellow Diamond’s extraction chamber, clad only in yellow swimming trunks that matched his surroundings by coincidence. The doors slid shut and the two made their way toward the alternate diamond-sized entrance to wait until the session was over. As soon as they were out of earshot of the topaz guards, Yellow Pearl turned to her co-worker and smirked.

“Your Diamond has quite the imagination, doesn’t she? What kind of names are ‘Steven’ and ‘Lasagna’?” Yellow Pearl haughtily asked, only partially out of curiosity.

_I missed you too._ Pearl thought in exasperation as she rolled her eyes. “Earth names,” she replied vaguely. Yellow Pearl would throw a fit if she could somehow understand what lasagna was, and therefore what she was forced to say out of respect.

“Speaking of which, how was your trip? Unlike your Diamond, mine has been as productive and radiant as ever. We even have a new batch of Citrines we’ll soon need to attend to. Thankfully, it seems that you were able to talk some sense into your Diamond to come back.... even in that bizarre form of hers.”

“We actually wouldn’t have come back at all if the rest of the diamonds hadn’t botched their job ‘obliterating’ every gem on Earth.” Pearl paused, not quite sure if this was true. “Granted, you guys dragged Steven here quite recently.”

“Did we? Hold on. Was she the one at the trial to apprehend Rose Quartz for shattering your Diamond? I thought she looked familiar. This means that you…” Yellow Pearl’s eyes widened slightly.

Pearl only sighed in response.

“ _You_ were the rebellious pearl? How rich! Wait until they all hear that the infamous renegade was actually taking orders from her Diamond the whole time.” She let out a snort, validated after centuries of agonizing over an idea that never sat right in her mind.

Pearl was quick to shoot down her sly smile. “If you want to look at it that way, we’re supposed to make them happy. I’ve clearly been the most successful.”

Flustered, Yellow Pearl scowled and looked away.  She paused for a few moments, then mused “Well, I’ve noticed you acting a lot more… buddy-buddy with your Diamond.””

“Excuse me?”

“I’ve noticed the lack of formalities. While it is your job to inform your Diamond of necessary developments, you spill yourself a lot more than you used to.”

“I wasn’t—” A faint blush tinted her cheeks, knowing that Yellow Pearl was right. _You were always very good at nosing around in the business of others._ “Regardless, none of this concerns you.”

“Ha, I get it. Do whatever it is you do with your Diamond on that planet. But not here. You of everyone should know how bad of an idea that is.”

“So maybe I’ve taken up some of her mannerisms. I’ll be as careful as I need to be without your advice.”

“Whatever happens, I’d start acting more pearl-like,” Yellow Pearl lowered her voice. “Unless you’d like to end up like your predecessor.”

White Pearl. That certainly wasn’t who—or what, more accurately—she expected to see earlier today. In Pink Diamond’s ship, she had ran through a million different possibilities regarding what would happen once they landed. If it was up to her, Steven wouldn’t have been allowed to go to Homeworld in the first place, as much as he hated when decisions were made for him. But Blue and Yellow hadn’t exactly made it a choice. She hoped beyond hope that White would at least soften her blows now that they had two diamonds advocating for Steven’s safety. Instead, they arrived to a celebrating crowd and an immediate greeting from the greatest monarch’s Pearl.

She was mortified when White Pearl whisked him away. Once allowed off the ship, she raced to Pink Diamond’s old room, where she expected to wait for days before being reintroduced to what remained of Steven. To her confusion and relief, she found Steven neither physically nor mentally scarred. What exactly could have happened in there? Why had White Diamond been so dismissive? Or perhaps at this very moment she was cooking up some horrific punishment to exact upon the Crystal Gems. Although the other gems would definitely be shattered and Connie imprisoned in the Zoo, she loathed to think of what would happen to her, or worse, Steven. _Ugh, it won’t do anything to consider such things right now._ Pearl shook her head and made a mental note to ask for details of White’s behavior when they got back to his mother’s room.

“She was just like your Diamond, you know.”

They stood in silence for a few moments, staring past each other so as to not make eye contact, before it was punctuated by a quiet voice. “Are your Diamonds in the extraction chamber?”

Blue Pearl walked up to her counterparts, perhaps having overheard the tail of their conversation. She turned her head toward Pearl, who could feel herself being carefully studied.

“Yes! They are,” Yellow Pearl quickly changed the subject. Perhaps she had sensed how uncomfortable she had made Pearl. “They should be out momentarily. Yellow Diamond has some matters to attend to.”

“I am aware,” Blue Pearl replied and turned to Pearl. “It would be best if your Diamond had nothing scheduled since my Diamond would like to meet with her as soon as possible.”

“Not at all. In fact, he was asking me if we could go to Blue for advice,” said Pearl.

The sudden noise of the door sliding open startled the three. Yellow Diamond exited with purpose, almost as if in a hurry, and her pearl briskly followed with one last glance at the others. Out of the corner of her eye, Pearl saw the gems embedded in the walls quickly look away as if they overheard a conversation they weren’t supposed to listen in on. It was nothing new. Being near the extraction chamber, they were sure to have heard plenty of gossip regarding the Diamonds. Bits of information that could get any other gem shattered merely for hearing them. The sentient architecture escaped discipline because they couldn’t do much of anything but talk amongst themselves.

Blue Pearl stepped around Pearl and saluted to Steven, delivering her Diamond’s message.

“Pink Diamond, my Diamond has requested your presence.”

* * *

 

“Blue Diamond is just up the stairs,” Pearl informed Steven. “I’ll wait for you here.”

“I’ll be back in a bit!” The words spilled out of Steven’s mouth as he dashed up the stairs.

Blue Pearl inclined her head toward Pearl. “Welcome back.”

“I certainly didn’t expect to see you so soon. Well, until we were dragged here. Blue was bound to want to talk to Steven, busy as she may be,” Pearl responded.

“And I didn’t expect to see you, either. We always assumed you were shattered alongside your Diamond.”

Pearl smiled wryly. “I guess I’ve stayed alongside ‘my Diamond’ for the past few millennia, one way or another.”

She re-explained the situation to Blue Pearl, who listened patiently and reacted with carefully tempered responses. Blue Pearl had always been easier to talk to. Though neither were overtly welcoming, especially after White Diamond had destroyed their long-time friend and offered Pearl as her replacement. She couldn’t blame them. What White had done was horrific, to say in the least, and the others were clearly impacted by what had happened to a perfectly functioning pearl. She heard, and recently observed first-hand, that even Blue and Yellow Diamond were somewhat jarred by the experience.

“You speak of her so fondly.” Blue Pearl said after some thought.

“She always had her own way of doing things. I guess they grew on me, as childish and ineffective as the Diamonds might think they are.”

“Your Diamond had a very distinct personality, as all of them do. It’s natural for a pearl to be more strongly inclined toward that of her Diamond.”

“I guess so,” Pearl sighed. “Yellow Pearl said that I’ve been acting differently. Have I really changed?”

“That’s true. You’re not completely different from the pearl I remember, though.” Blue Pearl stopped and considered her words. “It’s understandable that you’d act more like your Diamond after being isolated with her on a stray planet for so long.”

“Yes, but I’ve been thinking that maybe there have been more lasting changes. I wonder if it’s for the better, at least for Steven. If we’ve been acting this way for thousands of years, maybe it’s more than circumstance. You couldn’t have missed just how big some of the differences were on our way here, and he truly doesn’t remember anything,” Pearl decided to probe for a response, perhaps against her better judgement.

“There’s nothing to worry about. Gems never stray from their true selves and both of you were fine before you went to Earth,” Blue Pearl steadily replied. “All will settle in due time.”

Pearl backed off, knowing that eliciting a serious reaction would do more harm than good. “Thanks for the advice.”

“We are all wonderful like our Diamonds in our own ways,” Blue Pearl passively remarked. “I hope this is one less burden on your mind. It must be difficult settling back into routine.”

“I’m trying my best,” Pearl decided to steer the conversation in another direction. “Enough about me. What have you been doing? Still doodling during those meetings?”

Blue Pearl gladly accepted this small talk. “There’s nothing else to do after I’ve taken my notes. Diplomats have a way of bloating their requests all sorts of fluff and nonsense,” It seemed neither of them wanted a repeat of Pearl’s previous conversation.

Pearl raised her hand to her mouth, feigning shock. “A pearl interrupting her secretary work for her personal amusement? Scandalous!”

“That means a lot coming from you,” Blue Pearl replied with a small grin.

They continued like this for a few more minutes. _Steven’s taking a bit more time talking to Blue._ Pearl thought. _Even if he doesn’t accomplish anything right now, I hope Blue becomes at least a bit more accepting of the idea that he’s an entirely different person. Though with her tendency toward nostalgia, I wouldn’t be surprised if that wasn’t the case._

“Oh my, we’ve spent way too long here,” Blue Pearl almost looked alarmed. “My Diamond doesn’t have much time left. She has an appointment later that she must get ready for.”

“I see. You’d better get going, then.”

“Yeah. I’ll see you later.”

As Blue Pearl set her hand on the door to activate it, they stood in awkward silence, neither knowing whether it was appropriate the end the conversation so abruptly. Eventually, Blue Pearl disappeared into the chamber to retrieve her Diamond.

_“I want to live here with you. We’ll both be free!”_ Pearl remembered her conversation with Rose, word-for-word. She remembered the rush of excitement and her simultaneous feelings of apprehension, which she pushed aside for the happiness of her dear companion. But now that they were here, she couldn’t help but think that maybe, in her heart of hearts, she always knew that it wouldn’t last. She found herself expecting her first steps on Homeworld to feel surreal, not… familiar, given how far its technology had advanced. Natural, even? Perhaps it was the calm before the storm. White Pearl was a grim reminder of what was to come to her and her friends.

No. She had to believe in Steven. He always was her little miracle worker, and as difficult as it was for her to accept him when Rose passed, it was a mistake for her to expect him to develop into a carbon copy of his mother. Even though Rose failed to get through to her siblings in the past, Steven was still striving for a chance to right the wrongs that he never should have inherited in the first place. He really was a better person than Rose.

Two blue gems strode past her and turned down the corridor. Pearl composed herself and went to get Steven.

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to flex my dialogue muscles a bit since I'm not the best at making it sound natural. Let me know if I should add or remove tags since I haven't quite gotten the hang of this system. Thanks for reading!


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